Bill Cosby

I was one of two people sitting in a waiting room when one of Bill Cosby’s alleged victims came on TV. Her interviewer set the stage by describing how one of the women had been consistently accusing Bill Cosby of these crimes for the past 20 years, but the woman in front of him was only just then coming forward. He asked her, “Why now?” She said she just wanted an apology, but the man sitting beside me spoke over her. “Money. She just wants money.”

Maybe that’s true. Maybe all of those women are hoping to get money. Personally, I think they went about it the wrong way if that’s what they were looking for. Bill Cosby might have been willing to pay them for their silence, to keep his reputation intact. But now? Why would he pay them? They’ve already ruined his reputation and paying them would only validate their claims.

Maybe some of them want money. Maybe some of them would refuse it. Maybe for them being paid in exchange for their rape would only be adding insult to injury. Maybe that money would make them feel that much more degraded.

I can think of a few more reasons these women might be coming forward. Maybe they want other women to know before they wind up in a room alone with him. Maybe they’re finally ready to be heard. Maybe they’re coming forward in solidarity for the women who came forward earlier.

Feminism is trending. There’s a reason the story is only now making headlines even though at least one of the women has been coming forward for years…You can’t just rape women anymore.

Maybe they do just want the money. But when did greed become worse than rape?